The N.M.E. Poll Winners’ Concert 1965
04/11/65
Wembley Stadium
London, England (04/11/65)
(bootleg CD)
Vigotone Industries (VG 166/167)
(Released 1998)

CD 1

The Moody Blues
Bo Didley
Go Now

Freddie And The Dreamers
Little Bitty Pretty One
A Little You

Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames
Yeh Yeh
Walking The Dog

The Seekers
I’ll Never Find Another You
A World Of Our Own

Herman’s Hermits
Wonderful World
Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter

The Ivy League And Division Two
Funny How Love Can Be
Sweet And Tender Romance
That’s Why I’m Crying

Sounds Incorporated
Time For You
In The Hall Of The Mountain King

Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders
Game Of Love
Just A Little Bit Too Late

The Rolling Stones
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
Pain In My Heart
Around And Around
Pain In My Heart

Cilla Black With Sounds Incorporated
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Going Out Of My Head
Total time: (73:49)

CD 2

Donovan
You’re Gonna Need Somebody On Your Band
Catch The Wind

Them
Here Comes The Night
Turn On Your Love Light

The Searchers
Bumble Bee
Let The Good Times Roll

Dusty Springfield with The Echoes
Dancing In The Street
Mockingbird
I Can’t Hear You

The Animals
Boom Boom
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Talkin’ bout You

The Kinks
You Really Got Me
Tired Of Waiting For You

The Beatles
I Feel Fine
She’s A Woman
Baby’s In Black
Ticket To Ride
Lomg Tall Sally
Total time: (73:44)

Liner notes:
The New Musical Express, the British music weekly with the largest circulation, staged a series of concerts in the sixties featuring artists who topped their popularity polls. The concerts, known as ‘The Poll Winners’ Concerts’, were all held in Wembley. This two CD set documents the second to last Poll Winner Concert held on April 11, 1965 at Wembley Stadium. An edited version of this concert was screened on ABC TV and networked throughout the UK on April 18 of that year. This set was compiled from the soundtrack of the unedited master.

Notes from David Chance:
The back of the package says “The cream of British music as chosen by the readers of The New Musical Express presented in concert on April 11, 1965 at Wembley Stadium.”

The cover has a small photograph of The Beatles performing at this concert. The liner has stock photos of The Rolling Stones, Donovan, The Animals, The Kinks, and Them. This is the first appearance of a live recording by Them (their first BBC radio studio session was in March 1965 — see Bluesology, which would technically be the first “live” recordings, albeit from the studio…this is in front of a concert audience). As per the liner notes, this is a soundboard-quality recording.

Them are introduced by Jimmy Savile, who says (jokingly) that they have “just finished a tour with the Lutten (sp?) Girls Choir and will have to leave the country very, very shortly.” The band takes a moment to soundcheck and then launches into “Here Comes The Night”. The freshness of the song to the band may, perhaps, be heard when, after the first chorus, Van begins the first verse a moment too soon, quickly catches himself, begins again and carries the song to it’s finish wonderfully.

There are the immediate strains of “Turn On Your Love Light”, with Van making some “noises” and tearing into the song. As the tempo speeds up, Alan Henderson (?) begins stirring the audience by urging them to join along. The song then meanders in a psychedlic blues groove for a moment before it picks up tempo again and works out to a close. Jimmy Savile exits Them with a humorous comment on the brevity of the band’s name (“pretty soon we’ll have bands like ‘A’, and ‘The'”).